Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 June 2004
36 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the progress that has been made with respect to the decentralisation of his Department; if a survey has been undertaken to assess the preference of his staff; if not the reason therefor; if staff have refused to decentralise; and the career prospects for those who do not decentralise with the Department. [16650/04]
View answerI have replied to a considerable number of questions on this topic in the recent past. As I have made clear on a number of occasions, my Department is in consultation on an ongoing basis with its staff regarding the most effective means by which the proposed decentralisation may be implemented and, as a central part of that process, all emerging new information is conveyed to staff as soon as it becomes available. The Deputy will, of course, be aware that the progress of decentralisation in any Department is guided by the overall implementation process being carried out centrally by the decentralisation implementation group.
In that context, a number of steps have recently been taken by my Department. A dedicated decentralisation unit has been set up to manage the programme. The unit is staffed by a higher executive officer and a clerical officer, who report to the personnel officer. This unit has prepared an information pack, which includes a wide range of information, on decentralisation areas relating to my Department's remit, and these packs have been made available to all staff. The unit issues regular bulletins to staff with the up to date information available on decentralisation and all documentation relating to the issue is made available on the public folders of my Department's e-mail system.
A departmental decentralisation committee has been established to steer the decentralisation process within the Department. Membership of the committee is made up of senior management and staff. A liaison officer has been appointed to facilitate communication between the Department of Finance and my Department. Special meetings of my Department's partnership committee are held to specifically address issues arising from decentralisation and use is made of such meetings to ensure that staff are kept informed on all aspects of the decentralisation process. There is regular communication between my Department and staff associations through the departmental council process. In addition, work is in hands on the establishment of systems for job analysis and process mapping for each function within my Department so as to facilitate effective transfers of staff in the future. An initial decentralisation implementation plan for my Department is currently being prepared for submission to the decentralisation implementation group in the near future.
While no survey has been carried out in my Department to assess staff preferences in relation to decentralisation, the central applications facility, CAF, system, as announced in the report of the decentralisation implementation group, is carrying out this task on a Civil Service wide basis. Extensive information on all decentralising areas is available as part of this process, to allow staff to make informed decisions. The system, which is available on-line, allows staff to register their preferences and it is expected that an analysis of the information ascertained will be available during July. I would, however, point out it has been emphasised at all stages that decentralisation will be on a voluntary basis.
